The Old Background Banner Trick

One of the most prominent tricks employed in Figure 13.3 is the use of a 1,000-pixel-high background image (named wainscot.gif). Because the entire page is unlikely to be more than 1,000 pixels high, the background only appears to repeat in the horizontal direction. Since the bottom part of the image is all the same color, it looks like the background is only a banner at the top of the page.

Unlike a foreground image used as a banner, however, this wainscoting will automatically size itself to go from "wall to wall" of any sized window. It takes up less space on a disk and transfers over the Internet faster because only one repetition of the pattern needs to be stored.